6.3.2

Textual History of Hamlet

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Textual History of Hamlet

Confusing as it may seem, there are 3 different versions of Shakespeare’s play: the first and second quartos and the first folio.

Illustrative background for The First Quarto (Q1)Illustrative background for The First Quarto (Q1) ?? "content

The First Quarto (Q1)

  • The First Quarto (Q1) was published in 1603 (although not discovered until 1823). It is about half the length of the version of the play you will be studying.
  • Q1 is generally considered to be a ‘bad copy’ of Shakespeare’s play. Many scholars believe it is a pirated version of the play, using a minor actor’s memory of each character’s lines and then rushed to print by a publisher trying to cash in on the success of the play.
Illustrative background for Usefulness of the First QuartoIllustrative background for Usefulness of the First Quarto ?? "content

Usefulness of the First Quarto

  • Q1 is useful to scholars for 2 main reasons:
    • With a running time between 2 and 2 ½ hours, this ‘short’ version of Hamlet may be closer to what Elizabethan audiences would have seen on stage. Some scholars have proposed that it may be a script based on a ‘touring’ version of the play.
    • Its helpful stage directions tell us how the play may have looked on stage.
      • E.g. Ophelia entering with her “hair down” in Act 4 Scene 5 signalling her descent into madness.
Illustrative background for The Second Quarto (Q2)Illustrative background for The Second Quarto (Q2) ?? "content

The Second Quarto (Q2)

  • The Second Quarto (Q2) was published in 1604.
  • This version of the play is generally believed to be the closest to what Shakespeare wrote in 1599.
  • It is the longest version (4,000 lines long) and, as a result, would have been too long to perform on the Elizabethan stage, taking 4 hours + even at top speed.
  • It has been suggested (e.g. by Giorgio Melchiori in 1992) that this version of play was meant to be read, rather than performed.
Illustrative background for The First Folio (F1) Illustrative background for The First Folio (F1)  ?? "content

The First Folio (F1)

  • The First Folio (F1) appeared in the Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies published seven years after Shakespeare’s death (1623).
  • It omits roughly 230 words from Q2 but adds 70 more which are not found in Q2. Most modern editions use F1 to ‘correct’ what are believed to be errors in Q2.

Jump to other topics

1Introduction

2Plot Summary

3Character Profiles

4Key Themes

5Writing Techniques

6Context

7Critical Debates

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